DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

GRADUATE PROGRAM

ENGLISH 6438

SEX, LOVE AND MARRIAGE IN

RESTORATION

AND EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY BRITISH

LITERATURE

FALL 2010

Saturdays 9:00 to 11:50 AM

CREDIT HOURS: Three credit hours. Three

hours per week/45 hours per

semester.

PREREQUISITES: Graduate level or the

consent of the professor.

PROFESSOR: Frances M. Bothwell del Toro, Ph.D.

CATALOGUE

DESCRIPTION: Seminar on the study of the portrayal of sex, love and marriage and related

issues of gender roles, legal and cultural considerations which affected

these as portrayed in the poetry, prose, drama and fiction from the

Restoration to the Regency (1660-1820).

TEACHING

STRATEGIES: Seminar format 100%. (Lecture 50%, and discussion 50%.) Extensive

individual work by students.

Los estudiantes que reciben servicios de

Rehabilitación Vocacional deben comunicarse

con el profesor al incio del semestre para

planificar el acomodo razonable y equip asistivo

necesario conforme a las recomedaciones de la

Oficina de Asuntos Estudiantes. También aquellos

estudiantes con necesidades especiales que requieren

de algún tip de asistencia o acomodo deben

comunicarse con el profesor. Ley 51

JUSTIFICATION:

This course will consider the influence of historical and

cultural studies on our views of the poetry, prose, drama and

fiction of this rich age in which, among other important

developments, vocal representatives of the female sex

appeared (Mary Astell, Mary Wortley Montagu, Mary Wollstonecraft among others), when the

family and marriage were being changed from the traditional, socially and economically

motivated institution into an institution in which individuals sought personal satisfaction. It was a

time of reform in the ways that society dealt with marriage as well. Women’s roles, her gender

Nell Gwynn, actress, royal mistress

Rochester and his monkey

and femininity and men’s masculinity was being redefined. By studying a large body of texts, the

course will seek a better understanding of the basic sexual, affective and legal relations between

and within the sexes at the dawn of the modern age, and the ways in which these were debated in

literary texts..

OBJECTIVES:

The student will know and be able to analyze the

literature of this period from 1660-1820, from a

historical/cultural perspective and understand the

diversity, controversy, and the basic presuppositions

of the period about the socialization and behavior of

men and women, among members of their own and

the opposite sex. The student will:

1. know and understand the historical and

intellectual background of the period and its

importance to the development of British

literature from 1660-1820 (the very long 18th

century).

2. know and understand the cultural, legal,

social and moral issues pertaining to

marriage, sex and love, and their portrayal in

the literature of the period.

3. be able to analyze the works of the major writers of the period and their views on the

theme of the course as well as be able to consider the literary values of these works.

4. be able to locate minor works which may be illustrative of the subject of the course and

be able to analyze them in the light of the cultural and historical background.

5. be able to use and evaluate major sources and research tools, including electronic research

tools and hypertext data banks.

6. be capable of writing essays and research papers on the subject matter related to the

course and generate original scholarship on this and related subjects.

7. be able to trace an issue or theme through a literary period by consulting historical, legal,

critical and literary texts.

COURSE OUTLINE:

The following outline is a general guide to the intention of the course. A more detailed Class

Schedule will follow.

1. Historical background. Traditional and historical bases for the relations between the

sexes. The legal grounds including the Marriage Act of 1753. (2 weeks)

From Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress, the rake in prison

2. The changes in women’s roles at the Restoration: Restoration comedy, Dryden,

Wycherley, Congreve, Aphra Behn and other female dramatists; Rochester and other

poets and prose writers. (2 weeks)

3. The marriage debate: dramatic and poetic views of courtship, marriage and divorce in

Restoration and 18 century poems, fiction and plays. (2 weeks)th

4. Satiric portrayals of men, women, the battle of the sexes, in mainstream Restoration and

18 century literature and art. (1 week)th

5. Female response to the establishment view: Restoration female dramatists, poets, and

fiction writers (2 weeks)

6. The 18 century feminists: Astell,th

Wortley Montagu, Wolstonecraft.

(2 weeks)

7. Male and female versions of the

relations between the sexes:

fictional representations by Defoe,

Richardson, Fielding, Burney,

Austen. (3 weeks)

8. Conclusions, summing up and

review. (1 week)

GRADES: 25% class participation

(including reaction papers,

any quizzes, and

Blackboard participation),

25% oral report, 50% term

paper,.

Evaluación diferenciada a estudiantes con necesidades especiales.

TEXTS:

Restoration and Eighteenth Century Comedy, Norton Critical Ed. 1997. ISBN:

9780393963342

M. Wolstonecraft. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Norton Critical Ed. 1987

ISBN: 9780393955729

Defoe, Daniel. Moll Flanders. .Norton Crit. Ed. ISBN 9780393978629

Richardson, Samuel. Pamela. Oxford World Classics, 2001.: ISBN 9780192829603

Burney, Fanny. Evelina. Norton Crit. Ed. 1997. ISBN 9780393971583

Marriage à la Mode (3): The Visit to the Quack Doctor

Fanny Burney

J. Austen. Persuasion. Norton Crit. Ed. 1994. ISBN 9780393960181

Other readings will be provided. These include shorter works, such as poems and essays.

Several will be put on a CD which you can copy to your computer, flash drive or simply

duplicate the CD; some others are available online, others will be on reserve in the

Seminar Room, A good source for many of the shorter readings is the Norton Anthology

of British Literature, Vol 1 or Vol 1C.

Norton Critical Editions are highly recommended. Other versions of these texts are acceptable.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1.. Students will be expected to attend classes regularly, including the showing of films.

Class participation counts as an exam grade, and attendance is factored in. Remember

that missing one class is 1/15th of the total since each class is a full week.

2. Keep up with the reading. . The poetry, drama and novels of the eighteenth century are

bound to surprise you with their earthiness, robust sense of life, interesting themes, and

formal variety. Give yourself time to enjoy the works. Don't try to cheat by reading

shortened versions. That always shows up on exams and essays. Pay some attention to

notes, etc. provided by the editors, for some of these novels allude richly to their

historical moment and editors frequently point out these parallels.

3. Students will write reaction papers on several of the works and participate actively in

class discussions. I hope to be able to include materials online, but am not sure about the

status of Blackboard. Will let you know later.

5. Each student will give an oral report on a topic not covered in the general reading. A

short summary sheet based on this report must be handed in and circulated among class

members. It may be posted, sometime before the day of the report, on the Blackboard

site. If posted, you should email everyone so that they look

at it or print it before the report is given. This written

handout for the report must include a bibliography of all

materials consulted (including Internet sites, articles, books

or films), a précis of the information to be developed orally,

and any plot summaries necessary for the understanding of

fellow students. You will be able to reach other students

through Blackboard as well.

6 Each student will prepare a term paper of between

15 and 20 pages on a specific issue related to the

course which will be due a week before the last

class. As graduate students you are expected to do

more than the minimal reading. There are ample

materials for research available. You will be

expected to delve into some of them and show your

ability to compose a thesis and develop it, using

critical materials to support your arguments.

7 For courtesy’s sake, PLEASE TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES, AND OTHER

ELECTRONIC NOISEMAKERS. I don’t expect to be late, but you will wait 20

minutes in case I am not here at exactly 9:00 M If I expect to be absent for some reason, I

will give you notice through email,, or announce it in the previous class, or, in an

emergency, a notice will be placed in the room.

To enhance the eighteenth-century experience we will view a few excellent films that help us to

understand the period and the way people lived.

*****************************************************************

I am Dr. Frances M. Bothwell del Toro. My office is Pedreira 2A, next to the lounge. Office

hours for this semester will be Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00 to 5:15 PM and Saturdays

from noon to 2 PM or by appointment. . If you cannot come during my office hours and need to

see me, please make an appointment.

My email is fmbothwell@gmail.com. I try to answer emails within two days of receiving it. But

if I don´t, you should send a second copy.

A number of Reserve books, articles and works will be placed, as needed, in the Richardson

Seminar Room, but users of the online site will have other sources (which I cannot duplicate) for

their use as well (if it works). Some interesting texts are available online in hypertext. The

Blackboard site will also have extensive bibliographies I have developed over the years on the

period, the subject of our course and individual authors. A copy of most of these latter items will

also be placed in Reserve so that you can photocopy them.

Nell Gwyn

The elopement